A RARE 'JIZHOU' MEIPING SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

with rounded shoulders tapering towards the foot, the body decorated in brown with an alternating repeated design of scrolls confined within ruyi-shaped outlines, the narrow neck painted with a key-fret band, rising to a rounded lip decorated with dots

Acquired in California, circa 1980.
Collection of Dr. Qingcai Zhang.

The glaze is misfired and has degraded. The surface likely coated to preserve the remaining glaze. There are chips around the foot, and a section of the foot has been polished. There are also two small holes in the foot where samples were taken for testing.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The technique used to create this type of design is difficult to control and as a result, vessels decorated this way are scarce.  An example of another meiping of similar size, also with the same all-over scrolling pattern was sold in our London sale rooms, 17th November 1999, lot 728; another is illustrated in Good Fortune Throughout History - An Exhibition of Black Glaze and Porcelain from Tzu-chou and Ji-Chou Kilns, Taipei, 2004, no. 41; and one on loan from the Florence and Herbert Irving collection is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (L.1992.62.25).

This kind of scroll design is best known and likely derived from contemporary carved lacquerware where it was used mainly in the decoration of bowls, dishes, trays and boxes. Similar designs were also made on silver vessels. For a silver example of a meiping and cover with this design excavated from a silver hoard in Deyang county, see Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, Gongyi meishu bian, vol. 10, Beijing, 1987, pl. 99.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. P106s56 is consistent with the dating of this lot.